Break a Palindrome Algorithm
Company: TikTok
Role: Product Manager
Category: Product / Decision Making
Difficulty: medium
Interview Round: Take-home Project
##### Question
Given a palindromic string of lowercase English letters (1 ≤ length ≤ 1,
000), replace exactly one character so that the result is no longer a palindrome and is the lexicographically smallest string possible. Return the new string, or an empty string if it cannot be done.
Describe your algorithm, key edge cases (e.g., single-character input), and analyze time and space complexity.
Quick Answer: This question evaluates algorithmic reasoning and product decision-making by testing string-manipulation skills, constraint handling, and concise edge-case analysis within the domain of product/decision-making and algorithm design.